Tories: Labour women's policy 'flawed'

The Conservatives have attacked the record of Labour's policies for women.

Launching a report on "women in the world" on Thursday, the Tories said the government's "one-size-fits-all" approach had failed to tackle problems such as domestic violence, rape, unequal pay and human trafficking.

Shadow minister for women Theresa May said: "Labour has a flawed approach to women's issues which has stalled progress.

"Labour has failed to recognise the diversity and complexity of the issues that confront women in the world today and mistakenly believes that the best way to solve these issues is by throwing legislation at them."

May pointed to a new law passed against domestic violence in 2004 that has still not been implemented.

Instead she proposed a more "intelligent, targeted and flexible" approach to women's policy.

"Our policy needs to be guided by a philosophy that welcomes diversity, promotes choice and recognises that Britain's 'women' are not a single monolithic bloc, but 30 million individuals," the report said.

"Moreover, a Conservative approach to gender equality will be based upon a belief in equality of opportunity and equitable legal, commercial, social and political treatment.

"Our approach will not be based on an unrealistic and undesirable equality of outcome. And we will not champion women's rights at the expense of men's rights, because gender equality is not a zero-sum game."

In the workplace, the report proposed policy solutions such as compulsory pay audits for employers who discriminate and extending the right to request flexible working to all parents of children aged 18 or younger. Currently, the right is available only to parents with children under six or disabled children under 18.

On assisting victims of rape, it promised that a Conservative government would introduce three-year funding settlements for rape crisis centres rather than on an annual basis.

And it said a fresh emphasis must be put on preventing the problem through the compulsory teaching of sexual consent as part of sex education lessons.

The report also took an international perspective, recommending that more aid to developing countries be delivered directly to women.